Rear quarter window and regulator



' y 30, 1939- E. G. SIMPSON 2,160,038 v REAR QUARTER WINDOW AND REGULATOR Filed May, 12, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Emory Glenn Simpson ATTORITI EYS May 30, 1939. E. G. SIMPSON 2,160,038

REAR QUARTER WINDOW AND REGULATOR F iled May 12, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 XIV wx 3 INVENTOR. j- Emory Glenn 91m Psan 815W, v m w. y g l.

ATTORNEY S Patented May 30, 1939 7 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REAR. QUARTER WiNDOW AND REGULATOR Emory Glenn Simpson, Detroit, Mich, assignorto General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Delaware Application May 12, 1937, Serial No. 142,139

7 Claims. (Cl. 296-44) This invention relates to the rear quarter winanchored around the turned up lugs ll of the dows of an automobile body. The window reguregulator plate 28. The lugs H serve as addilator has been a problem with rearquarter wintional means for holding the rack in engagement dows for the reason thatif put in the usual powith the pinion in case the spring l should sition, it interferes with ones arm upon the arm break. The rack passes through the open end rest and it is in a position where it is quite of the water catch basin, hereafter described. likely to catch a womans garments. Various so- The outer quarter panel is turned in at M and lutions of this problem have been proposed even flanged at and the inner body pillar I6 is simito the location of the window regulator at the larly turned in at H. Flange l5 and the inner 10 top of the window. It is the object of the presbody pillar l6 are welded together to form a ent invention to provide a form of window and trough l9 which forms a catch basin for water window regulator which places the window regseeping into the window opening. The window ulator in a convenient position in the body and Opening is guarded by two strips of long pile fabat the same time removes it out of the way of ric and 2| carried in channel strips 29a and ones elbow. To this end, the panel is made a Zla. This'serves to in a measure weather-seal 1'3 fore and aft sliding panel and the window openthe opening between the glass and the window ing is shaped so that the front opening slopes reveal on one side and the glass and the garnish from top to bottom in a rearward direction molding 22 on the other side.

thereby providing a substantial space between It will be noted that the front of the window the window and the door opening near the botopening slopes rearwardly from top to bottom. :0 tom of the window opening to accommodate the Also the body pillar 23 turns in a vertical direcwindow regulator and provide storage space for tion at point 23a about half-way between the the operating connection between the regulator upper and lower edges of the window (Fig. 1).

and the window. This. operating connection is This is in conformity with the stream-lined or preferably a curved rack which is attached to rakish body styles which are now in vogue. At the sliding window and which is guided up into thesame time, it provides an area forward of the space thus afforded between the door openthe window between the window opening and the ing and the window opening. This will more door opening for stationing the window regulafully appear in the description which follows. tor and for the storage of the window regulator In the drawings: parts. The curved rack accommodates itself ex- Ii Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view of the rear quaractly to the dimensions of this storage space. ter window of an automobile body with some of This places the regulator handle within conventhe parts broken away. ient reach of the occupant of the rear seat; in Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of the window fact, really more convenient in most bodies than regulator together with a fragmentary sectional is usually the case, as the regulator arm may be '25 View of the body adjacent the rear quarter panel seized with the arm somewhat extended which and a fragmentary view of the rear quarter is more convenient than the present convenpanel. tional location of the regulator immediately be- Figs. 3, 5 and 6 are sections taken on the corlow the window opening where the arm must be 4 responding section lines of Fig. 1. doubled up or somewhat cramped in order to m Figs. 4 and 7 are sections taken on the correoperate the regulator. sponding section lines of Fig. 2. The regulator is provided with the usual clutch,

, I represents the rear quarter panel in closed not shown, which is contained in the clutch case position in Fig. 1, and in Fig. 2, it is in full open 24. This clutch may be of any desired type, prefposition. The bottom of the panel is carried in erably the well-known coil spring clutch (not a channel 2 to which is secured a bracket 3 carshown) which is in almost universal use for rying the arm 4 to which is pivoted the segmenwindow regulators today. The regulator handle tal rack 5'which is operated by a pinion 6 which is shown at 25. It will be obvious that by operis mounted near the end of a clutch shaft 1. ating the handle, the pinion 6 on the end of The end of the shaft is journalled in the struck v the clutch shaft 1 will be turned, causing the seg- 5:) out portion 8 of the regulator plate. This has a mental rack to. travel in a curvilinear path. It point 9 that bears against the rack 5 to prevent is guided in this course by reason of being fixed it from rattling. A bowed spring [0 bears against at the lower end on a pivot to the bracket arm the inside of the segmental rack to hold it in 4 and held along its upperreaches to the face of engagementwith the pinion 6. The spring is the pinion by the spring I 0. The comparison of Figs. 1 and 2 indicates the path of the rack and also the movement of the sliding quarter panel. It will be noticed that the arrangement of the parts allows the curved rack to exert a straight line push on the sliding window. That is, the portion 5a on the rack 5 pivots with respect to the carrying arm 5 and exerts a continuous force parallel to the track 26, thereby reducing to a minimum any tendency of the glass frame to bind in its guideways.

The window is guided in its fore and aft movements by a T track 26 that is welded to the turned in portion of the inner panel I6. This T track is formed by folded metal. The head of this T track engages in a channel formed by the folded over angular guide strip 21 which is welded to the bottom of the sash channel 2.

I claim:

1.. The combination with a body having a quarter window opening provided with a guide for fore and aft sliding movements, a sliding window panel arranged to move fore and aft in said guide and a window regulator in the form of a driving pinion and a segmental rack arranged to travel in a curvilinear path and pivoted to the window panel and engaging with the pinion for sliding the window panel fore and aft, said rack in passing forward past the pinion retreating up along the forward edge of the window opening.

2. The combination with a body having a quarter window opening provided with a guide for fore and aft sliding movements, a sliding window panel arranged to move fore and aft in said guide and a window regulator in the form .of a driving pinion, a segmental rack arranged to travel in a curvilinear path and pivoted to the window panel and engaging with the pinion for sliding the window panel fore and aft and a spring member bearing against the side of the rack opposite the rack teeth for holding the rack into engagement with the pinion, said rack in passing forward past the pinion retreating up along the forward edge of the window opening.

3. The combination with a body having a quarter window opening provided with a guide for fore and aft sliding movements, a sliding window panel arranged to more fore and aft in said guide and a window regulator located forward of the window opening and near but above the bottom thereof comprising a driving pinion and having a segmental rack arranged to travel in a curvilinear path and pivoted at the bottom and the forward end of the sliding panel and engaging with the driving pinion, said rack in passing forward past the pinion retreating up along the forward edge of the window opening.

4. The combination of a body having a door opening and provided with a rear quarter panel having a window opening in which the forward boundary of the window opening slopes rearwardly from top to bottom providing an; angular space between the window opening at the bottom thereof and the door opening, a sliding panel guided for fore and aft sliding movement in said window opening, a window regulator located in said space near the bottom of the window opening and between the window opening and the door opening comprising a driving pinion and a segmental rack pivoted at the bottom of the window and held in engagement with the teeth of the driving pinion, said rack in passing forward past the pinion retreating up along the forward edge of the window opening.

5. The combination of a body having a door opening and provided with a rear quarter panel having a window opening in which the forward boundary of the window opening slopes rearwardly from top to bottom providing an angular space between the window opening at the bottom thereof and the door opening, a sliding panel guided for fore and aft sliding movement in said Window opening and a window regulator located in said space near the bottom of the window opening and between the window opening and the door opening, said regulator comprising a driving pinion, a curved segmental rack pivoted at the bottom of the window and aspring anchored on the window regulator and bearing against the back of the segmental rack for holding the same yieldingly in engagement with the teeth of the pinion, said curved segmental rack retreating,

when moving forwardly, up .into said angular space.

6. The combination of a body having a door opening and provided with a rear quarter panel having a window opening in which the forward boundary of the window opening slopes rearwardly from top to bottom providing an angular space between the window opening at the bottom thereof and the door opening, a sliding panel guided for fore and aft sliding movement in said window opening and a window regulator located in said space near the bottom of the window opening and between the window opening and the door opening, said regulator comprising a driving pinion, a segmental rack pivoted at the bottom of the window, one or more lugs on said window regulator, and a spring anchored on said lugs and bearing against the back of the segmental rack for holding the same yieldingly in engagement with the teeth of the pinion, said lugs serving also to hold the rack in engagement with the teeth of the pinion in case of breakage of said spring.

'7. The combination with a body provided with a rear quarter window opening formed by an inner panel and an outer panel having turned in portions and a T track welded to the turned in portion of the inner panel, a sliding panel supported in a sash channel and a guide strip secured to the bottom of the sash channel and fitting over the top of the T and having a sliding engagement with the track.

- EMORY GLENN SIMPSON. 

